Mink ISSN: 1949-1549 Released July 8, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Pelt Production Down 2 Percent Mink pelt production in the United States in 2010 totaled 2.82 million pelts, down 2 percent from 2009. Wisconsin, the largest mink producing State, produced 883,430 pelts. Utah, the second largest producing State, produced 677,900 pelts. The number of pelts by color class as a percent of the total United States production in 2010 is as follows: Black at 51 percent, Mahogany at 26 percent, Blue Iris at 9 percent, and Demi/Wild at 4 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 10 percent. Value of pelts produced during the 2010 crop year was 231 million, up 24 percent from $187 million a year ago. The average price per pelt for the 2010 crop year was $81.90, up $16.80 from $65.10 in 2009. Female mink bred to produce kits in 2011 totaled 701,000, up 5 percent from the previous year. Percent of total females bred to produce kits in 2011 by color class is as follows: Black at 52 percent, Mahogany at 25 percent, Blue Iris at 8 percent, and Demi/Wild at 4 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 11 percent. Mink farms producing pelts in 2010 totaled 265, down 5 percent from a year ago. Mink Pelts Produced and Females Bred by Color Class - United States: 2009-2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Pelts produced : Females bred to produce kits :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : 2009 : 2010 : 2010 : 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : number : Black .........: 1,505,500 1,443,600 339,400 363,500 Demi/Wild .....: 123,900 101,200 27,600 26,120 Pastel ........: 56,200 66,820 18,300 17,200 Sapphire ......: 94,400 76,480 25,900 20,380 Blue Iris .....: 272,400 263,620 66,600 58,000 Mahogany ......: 683,500 725,900 160,700 171,860 Pearl .........: 57,100 74,900 12,600 18,600 Lavender ......: 4,400 6,030 1,700 2,410 Violet ........: 14,500 9,440 4,000 3,550 White .........: 48,800 46,800 11,800 17,780 Other .........: 6,000 7,410 1,600 1,600 : Total .........: 2,866,700 2,822,200 670,200 701,000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mink Farms, Pelts Produced, Average Price, and Value - United States: 1991-2010 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Mink : Pelts :Average marketing: Value of Year : farms : produced : price : mink pelts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : number number dollars dollars : 1991 ..........: 683 3,268,200 21.90 71,573,580 1992 ..........: 571 2,900,000 23.80 69,020,000 1993 ..........: 523 2,620,300 34.10 89,352,230 1994 ..........: 484 2,623,200 33.00 86,565,600 1995 ..........: 478 2,803,100 53.10 148,844,610 1996 ..........: 449 2,783,200 35.30 98,246,960 1997 ..........: 452 2,993,300 33.10 99,078,230 1998 ..........: 438 2,938,100 24.80 72,864,880 1999 ..........: 398 2,812,500 33.70 94,781,250 2000 ..........: 350 2,666,100 34.00 90,647,400 : 2001 ..........: 329 2,565,300 33.50 85,937,550 2002 ..........: 324 2,607,300 30.60 79,783,380 2003 ..........: 305 2,549,000 40.10 102,214,900 2004 ..........: 296 2,558,100 47.10 120,486,510 2005 ..........: 275 2,637,800 60.90 160,642,020 2006 ..........: 279 2,858,800 48.40 138,365,920 2007 ..........: 283 2,828,200 65.70 185,812,740 2008 ..........: 274 2,820,700 41.60 117,341,120 2009 ..........: 278 2,866,700 65.10 186,622,170 2010 ..........: 265 2,822,200 81.90 231,138,180 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pelts Produced by Color Class - Selected States and United States: 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire :Blue Iris:Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : number : Idaho ............: 107,000 13,500 3,400 9,500 (D) 108,000 Illinois .........: 56,000 (D) - - (D) (D) Iowa .............: 79,000 (D) (D) (D) 6,500 (D) Michigan .........: 29,000 - (D) (D) (D) 3,400 Minnesota ........: 88,000 35,000 (D) (D) 55,000 80,000 Montana ..........: (D) (D) - - (D) (D) Ohio .............: 47,000 (D) (D) (D) (D) 21,000 Oregon ...........: 158,000 (D) - 11,000 79,000 (D) Pennsylvania .....: 28,000 (D) (D) 5,500 11,000 (D) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) - - (D) Utah .............: 225,000 37,000 (D) (D) 7,500 285,000 Washington .......: 69,000 (D) - (D) (D) - Wisconsin ........: 585,000 (D) (D) 45,000 87,000 117,000 : Other States 1/ ..: 34,500 38,400 52,800 23,400 26,400 69,100 : United States ....:1,505,500 123,900 56,200 94,400 272,400 683,500 :----------------------------------------------------------- States : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White : Other :Total 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------- : number : Idaho ............: - (D) - - (D) 251,500 Illinois .........: (D) - (D) (D) (D) 71,100 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) - 114,800 Michigan .........: - - - 5,500 - 45,300 Minnesota ........: - - - 6,000 - 267,200 Montana ..........: - - - - - 22,500 Ohio .............: - - - - - 78,900 Oregon ...........: - - (D) - - 270,100 Pennsylvania .....: (D) - - (D) (D) 57,300 South Dakota .....: (D) - - - - 81,500 Utah .............: (D) - - (D) - 613,500 Washington .......: - - - - - 93,500 Wisconsin ........: (D) 3,300 (D) 24,000 4,100 886,100 : Other States 1/ ..: 57,100 1,100 14,500 13,300 1,900 13,400 : United States ....: 57,100 4,400 14,500 48,800 6,000 2,866,700 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States also includes some pelts from the above listed States that were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ Published color classes may not add to the State total to avoid disclosing individual operations. Pelts Produced by Color Class - Selected States and United States: 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire :Blue Iris:Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : number : Idaho ............: 111,000 (D) 5,500 8,500 (D) 120,000 Illinois .........: 42,000 (D) - (D) (D) (D) Iowa .............: 83,000 - (D) (D) 6,500 (D) Michigan .........: 28,000 - (D) (D) (D) 3,000 Minnesota ........: 47,000 37,000 (D) (D) 22,000 85,000 Montana ..........: 5,500 (D) - - (D) 13,000 Ohio .............: 57,000 (D) - (D) (D) 25,000 Oregon ...........: 159,000 (D) (D) 12,000 69,000 (D) Pennsylvania .....: 27,000 (D) 6,000 4,900 12,500 (D) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) - - (D) Utah .............: 245,000 (D) (D) 12,000 (D) 300,000 Washington .......: 50,000 (D) - - (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 570,000 (D) 13,500 35,000 115,000 103,000 : Other States 1/ ..: 19,100 64,200 41,820 4,080 38,620 76,900 : United States ....:1,443,600 101,200 66,820 76,480 263,620 725,900 :----------------------------------------------------------- States : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White : Other :Total 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------- : number : Idaho ............: (D) - - - (D) 259,300 Illinois .........: (D) - (D) (D) (D) 55,260 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) - 111,140 Michigan .........: - - - 4,500 - 40,500 Minnesota ........: - - - 3,900 - 199,730 Montana ..........: - - - - - 21,900 Ohio .............: - - - - - 92,000 Oregon ...........: - - (D) - - 261,300 Pennsylvania .....: (D) - (D) (D) (D) 64,520 South Dakota .....: (D) - - - - 80,000 Utah .............: (D) - - (D) - 677,900 Washington .......: - - - - - 68,200 Wisconsin ........: - 6,000 (D) 28,000 4,200 883,430 : Other States 1/ ..: 74,900 30 9,440 10,400 3,210 7,020 : United States ....: 74,900 6,030 9,440 46,800 7,410 2,822,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States also includes some pelts from the above listed States that were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ Published color classes may not add to the State total to avoid disclosing individual operations. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits by Color Class - Selected States and United States: 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire :Blue Iris:Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : number : Idaho ............: 28,000 2,400 800 2,200 (D) 25,000 Illinois .........: 15,000 (D) - - (D) (D) Iowa .............: 17,500 - (D) (D) 1,700 (D) Michigan .........: 7,500 - (D) (D) (D) 900 Minnesota ........: 11,000 7,500 (D) 100 4,800 20,000 Montana ..........: 1,400 (D) - - (D) (D) Ohio .............: 9,500 (D) (D) (D) (D) 6,500 Oregon ...........: 32,000 (D) - 2,600 17,000 (D) Pennsylvania .....: 6,500 (D) (D) 2,600 3,700 (D) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) - - (D) Utah .............: 65,000 11,000 (D) (D) 4,100 70,000 Washington .......: 16,000 - - (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 125,000 (D) 3,600 12,000 28,000 18,500 : Other States 1/ ..: 5,000 6,700 13,900 6,400 7,300 19,800 : United States ....: 339,400 27,600 18,300 25,900 66,600 160,700 :----------------------------------------------------------- States : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White : Other :Total 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------- : number : Idaho ............: - (D) - - (D) 61,000 Illinois .........: (D) - (D) (D) - 18,400 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) - 23,500 Michigan .........: - - - 1,100 - 11,100 Minnesota ........: - - - (D) - 45,800 Montana ..........: - - - - - 5,800 Ohio .............: - - - - - 19,300 Oregon ...........: - - (D) - - 57,500 Pennsylvania .....: (D) - - (D) - 15,900 South Dakota .....: (D) - - - - 18,200 Utah .............: (D) - - (D) (D) 170,600 Washington .......: - - - - - 21,400 Wisconsin ........: - 1,400 (D) 6,500 1,100 199,000 : Other States 1/ ..: 12,600 300 4,000 4,200 500 2,700 : United States ....: 12,600 1,700 4,000 11,800 1,600 670,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States also includes some females bred from the above listed States that were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ Published color classes may not add to the State total to avoid disclosing individual operations. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits by Color Class - Selected States and United States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire :Blue Iris:Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : number : Idaho ............: 30,000 (D) 1,300 1,800 (D) 29,000 Illinois .........: 14,000 (D) - (D) (D) (D) Iowa .............: 19,000 - (D) (D) 1,900 3,500 Michigan .........: 8,500 - (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 17,000 (D) (D) (D) 5,500 20,000 Montana ..........: 1,600 (D) - - (D) (D) Ohio .............: 13,000 (D) - (D) (D) 7,000 Oregon ...........: 32,000 - - (D) 14,500 (D) Pennsylvania .....: 7,000 (D) 2,000 2,000 3,900 (D) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) - - (D) Utah .............: 62,000 7,500 (D) 4,500 (D) 73,000 Washington .......: 10,500 - - - (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 144,000 (D) 4,200 9,000 24,000 21,000 : Other States 1/ ..: 4,900 18,620 9,700 3,080 8,200 18,360 : United States ....: 363,500 26,120 17,200 20,380 58,000 171,860 :----------------------------------------------------------- States : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White : Other :Total 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------- : number : Idaho ............: (D) - - - (D) 65,800 Illinois .........: (D) - (D) (D) (D) 20,530 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) - 26,210 Michigan .........: - - - (D) - 11,750 Minnesota ........: - - - 1,300 - 53,220 Montana ..........: - - - - - 7,040 Ohio .............: - - - - - 22,600 Oregon ...........: - - (D) - - 54,180 Pennsylvania .....: (D) - (D) (D) (D) 16,520 South Dakota .....: (D) - - - - 15,800 Utah .............: (D) - - (D) - 168,600 Washington .......: - - - - - 15,000 Wisconsin ........: - 2,400 (D) 12,500 1,300 221,260 : Other States 1/ ..: 18,600 10 3,550 3,980 300 2,490 : United States ....: 18,600 2,410 3,550 17,780 1,600 701,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States also includes some females bred from the above listed States that were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ Published color classes may not add to the State total to avoid disclosing individual operations. Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Mink production data are collected from early May through late May from all known producers. Individual NASS Field Offices maintain a list of all known mink producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. All known mink producers are mailed a questionnaire and given adequate time to respond by mail. Those who do not respond by mail are telephoned or enumerated in person. Care is exercised to account for all operations. Major auction houses, which handle producer sales, provide mink pelt price data in June. Prices are collected at the point of first sale, before marketing costs are deducted. Estimation Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Revision Policy: Revisions to previous estimates are made to improve year-to- year and item-to-item relationships. Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when current estimates are made. Estimates will also be reviewed after data from the five-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date. Reliability: Mink production estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality control in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the following table. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and final estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for mink pelts produced over the past 10 years is 0.5 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.82 million pelts by more than 0.5 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.8 percent. Reliability of Mink Estimates [Based on data for the past ten years] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Root mean : 90 percent : Difference between first and latest estimate : square error : confidence : : : : : : : level :------------------------------------------------------------- Item : : : : : : Years : : : : : :------------------------------- : : : Average :Smallest : Largest : Below latest : Above latest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent ------- 1,000 ------- ----- number ---- : : Pelts produced ...............: 0.5 0.8 7 0 34 6 1 : Females bred .................: 0.9 1.7 4 0 15 6 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch ....................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ................ (202) 720-4447 Cody Brokmeyer - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ...... (202) 690-3237 David Colwell - Cold Storage ............................................. (202) 720-8784 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ............................................... (202) 690-8632 Troy Marshall - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey ................ (202) 720-3244 Miste Salmon - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink .. 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